


what comes after

by lemonbasil



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, changing traditions, din learns how to be a person, fix it fic? idk, grogu gets 2 dads, hardened warrior learns he has feelings, picks up right after s2ep8, space twink meets single father, the most pure friendship is between a hunky himbo and a butch lesbian, what more would you want
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28486995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonbasil/pseuds/lemonbasil
Summary: Din wonders the last time he made a choice of his own, and decides it was when he first met the child. Something deep inside of him told him to rescue the boy, and keep him safe. He doesn’t regret it for a second. He fought for the toddlers sake, just as his covert had fought for him as a foundling. It wasn’t just creed, it was what was right. He was thankful for the teachings and care of his covert, but thought of his parents. As a child, if he had the choice to stay with his parents, he thinks he would have. Because it is hard to lose things you care about, especially at a young age. And that was when Din made another choice.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Cara Dune, Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda, Din Djarin & Luke Skywalker, Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 45
Kudos: 299





	1. an impulse

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this ship has been consuming all the free space in my brain lately. i've just been watching the dinluke tag expand over the past week, and i thought i should contribute. this is my first fic, and im a pretty casual star wars fan. so pls don't put me on blast if i got anything wrong. anyway thanks for reading!

Din Djarin stood slack and empty as he watched the hollow metal doors of the bridge close in front of him. The bridge of Moff Gideon's hijacked imperial star cruiser. The sealed room felt like a vacuum. As if all of the oxygen had been sucked from the space, rendering Din unable to manage a breath. He felt shrivelled and brittle, his bones aching under the weight of reality, and the layers of beskar. Behind him may well have been open to the cold indifference of space, because he felt so vastly alone in those moments. Suffocating in his shoes. He was stunned by the waves of emotion that wash over him. As if handing off that small green child was handing off a piece of himself. It all happened so fast. The kidnapping, their brief reunion, and then the jedi. His arms instinctually felt empty, as the phantom weight he grew so accustomed to carrying dissipated.  _ It all happened so fast,  _ he thought to himself again. 

After what felt like hours, his torrid breaths steadied, and his eyes stopped stinging. His knuckles twitched at his side as his body seemed to become his own again. Muscles creaking and grip loosening on the steel in his grasp. Din mustered all of his strength to bring his helmet to his head, and slide it unceremoniously back on. It was heavier than it had ever been, and seemed to carry a sickening finality. 

Then there was a firm hand on his shoulder, resting with a force felt through his armor. He knew the gesture to be from Cara, knowing she was the only one in the room who would care enough to offer her sympathy. That was when he felt the first tear fall, and the damp saltiness stole his vision and soaked his helmet in vulnerable secrecy. He felt  _ horrible. _ But he straightened anyway, and ever so slowly turned toward the bridge. His moment was over, and time continued to move. His loss was far from the harshest faced in the room, and he reminded himself of this as he faced the others behind him. Their expressions were stoic, all for Bo-Katan. Whose blatant harshness was palpable from all those feet away. The rest shared flashes of pity and indifference. Din turned his head to Cara, who remained at his side. She gave him a sympathetic look, and said quietly and reassuringly,

“He’ll be okay. You did what was best for him.” It was a kind sentiment, but it didn't make him feel any better. He nodded anyway.

Across the room, a monitor is illuminated with movement from the ship’s docking bay. The tail end of an x-wing starfighter disappears from view as it takes off. Din once again notes the crushing silence in the room, however this time it feels less in his head. Finally, someone clears their throat.

“So, what now?” Cara states simply, shifting the focus from the screen. 

“Set a course to Mandalore.” Bo-Katan instructs Koska, before turning her gaze toward the floor, where Moff Gideon laid in a crumpled pile. “I’m taking this kriffing  _ skanah  _ to the bridge.” 

Bo-Katan kicks Moff Gideon’s lifeless form to see if he’d stir, before heaving him over her shoulder and starting towards the door. Cara shoots Din a quick look before deciding to assist Bo-Katan, and heading off after her. Din, not having been tasked with anything, finds himself wandering into a seat in the corner and staying there. Content to rest his head on the back of the chair and stare straight at the ceiling in silence. Maybe when he rises, his head will feel less heavy. Emotion and exhaustion swarm him behind lidded, masked eyes. And he longs for a day when he felt much less.

***

Steps reverberate like thunder on the metal floor of the ship. Armor creaks and clanks while fabric rustles, and hushed voices stir Din’s tired mind. He doesn’t think he’d slept since before the child was taken, and it doesn’t seem he will get to for a little while longer. He tilts his sluggish head toward the others, peering at them through his toned visor with bleary eyes. Bo-Katan and Koska stand at the main control panel. The mandalorian women discussing something with stern inflection. They seem to stop as they notice him rouse. Fennec and Cara are seated across the room, and their eyes follow him as well. The group looks at him like he is some sort of wild card, and none of them know what he is going to do next. Truthfully, he doesn’t either. He now has one less son, and one more laser sword than he intended at the start of the mission. 

Din takes a deep breath, and lets out a long sigh. He supposes he will do as he has always done, and keep moving. By creed or by circumstance there is always a next move, and he believes this one lies lamely in his pocket. The two groups of women in front of him look like a choice, but there are never really choices for the mandalorian. The darksaber decided for him in the same way that the Armorer did. Din stands and takes a deafening step toward the warriors by the window. 

“How long until we reach Mandalore?” He asks the pair curtly. 

“About a day's journey once we route through hyperspace.” Bo-Katan responds. Din hums in thought. 

“What happens when we get there?” 

“We must battle for the darksaber. The victor will claim the title of Mand’alor and return our civilization to its former glory.” Bo-Katan stated matter-of-factly, making it sound just that simple. 

“I’m not going to fight you, Bo-Katan.” Din sighs. “The darksaber is  _ yours.  _ You deserve to rule.” 

“I have not proved deserving of anything. It is a right that needs to be  _ won,  _ and I have obviously not done so.” She spat. 

“I didn’t  _ mean  _ to take it, you know that.” He hissed back. Din wasn’t sure when Koska had backed up, but the two armored individuals were almost at each other's throats. Growing more exasperated by the second. 

“ _ Of course  _ you didn’t mean to. And I’m sure your little cult doesn’t  _ mean  _ to undermine our tradition and history by propagating antiquated policy. Why does it not surprise me at all that one of their zealots managed to ‘accidentally’ claim the right to  _ rule Mandalore. _ ” She fumed. 

“ _ Kriff _ , Bo-Katan, I just wanted my kid back!” He exclaimed. She scoffed and turned her head, eyeing back at him angrily. 

“Oh, yeah, and  _ where is he now _ ?!” 

Din felt his blood boil at her accusations. It was affronting and incredibly insulting. He couldn’t give less of a shit about ruling Mandalore. Those were not his people. His people are his covert, and Grogu. Din glared at Bo-Katan's twisted, angry face through squinted eyes. He was grateful for his helmet, as his composure remained intact. Before the bitter woman could disparage him further, he turned toward the door and stormed out.

The dim, stale corridors of the imperial light cruiser were like a maze. They twisted and turned, each hallway looking the same as the last. The soulless facets of the ship’s interior were littered with the bits of dark troopers cut down by the jedi’s onslaught. Din maneuvers his way around the detritus in his path, carefully stepping over the metal black carcasses. He’s searching for a place to have a moment alone, and hopefully some much needed peace and quiet. Eventually he stumbles upon what seemed to be some kind of recreational room in the center of the ship. It was lined with various vending machines, and housed several sets of tables and chairs. Din made his way over to a long black leather couch, and laid down on his back with a heavy metal thump. He brings his arm up to cover his visor, and lets out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. It had been such an extremely long day, and he felt more alone than at the start. It felt like some sort of cosmic joke. He had just gotten Grogu back, only for him to slip from his grasp again. Din quietly reminds himself that this is different, and that Grogu is safe. He is where he needs to be, and Din has completed his mission. But the victory feels hollow and tinged with guilt and regret. Emotions he doesn’t really know what to do with, and after Bo-Katan’s beratement, he really just wants to rest. He had never felt like this at the end of a mission before. His work with the guild was always straightforward and unsentimental, and he supposes he was much the same. As consciousness seemed to slip away, Din wondered what changed.

_ The sky is gray and clouded with smoke and grime. Blasters and thunderous cannons rip through the fog behind him. Din’s vision is in the natural technicolor of naked sight, his shaggy hair hanging in his eyes. With only a red cloak for protection instead of his usual beskar. He is running. Feet trampling through mulch and dirt at a hurried pace, trying his best not to lose his footing. He is clutching a bundle of fabric tightly to his chest with both arms, shielding it from debris. Beads of sweat drip down his face, mixing with tears pricked by acrid smaug. His eyes dart around wildly, looking for a place of respite in the battlefront. White flares flash behind him as a village is pillaged and leveled. Din spots a storage cellar a few yards away, just as heavy metal footsteps encroach upon him. He frees his right hand to grip the rusted latch, burying his cargo deeper into his chest while he rips the doors open. With shaky arms the bundle is lowered into the shallow cellar. Inside the bunch of cloths is a familiar green face. The contradictory wrinkled and infantile face of Grogu, his large eyes wide with fear. Din rubs one of Grogu’s long ears with gentle affection, before withdrawing. He watches his child’s face of horror as he closes the heavy doors over him, turning back to face the crossfire. _

Din Djarin wakes in a cold sweat. Clammy from the fitful sleep, and heart pounding in the aftermath of the nightmare. He recognized the vision instantly as his own memory from childhood, albeit he had never seen it from this angle. It was the last time he saw his parents, before the covert found him. In the bleary vulnerability of sleep, he thinks back to those first few months with his mandalorian family. As a child, he knew his parents had given their lives to protect him. But through the mind of a child, he had still felt abandoned and left alone, even if it was all for the best. The dream’s message is evident enough, and he wonders if Grogu feels abandoned as well. Din cannot say he is the boy’s parent, but he had been the closest the child has had to a guardian in a long time. Grogu, who’s life as a jedi was torn apart by the war so long ago. Din wonders how much time the child spent alone, and how many times he was removed from comfort. There is a dull ache in his chest at the thought that he contributed to the child’s misfortune. He did what he had to, right? He had completed the mission the Armorer gave him, and returned the child to his kind. He did not decide that was his quest, but it was decided by creed. Din wonders the last time he made a choice of his own, and decides it was when he first met the child. Something deep inside of him told him to rescue the boy, and keep him safe. He doesn’t regret it for a second. He fought for the toddlers sake, just as his covert had fought for  _ him _ as a foundling. It wasn’t just creed, it was what was right. He was thankful for the teachings and care of his covert, but thought of his parents. As a child, if he had the choice to stay with his parents, he thinks he would have. Because it is hard to lose things you care about, especially at a young age. And that was when Din made another choice.

Cara Dune found the mandalorian sprawled out on a sofa in one of the common spaces on the light cruiser. He had been missing for several hours, and it is now clear why. The poor man was finally getting some much needed rest, and she almost feels bad interrupting. 

“Hey Mando, Fett’s here, so I think Fennec and I are going to head off.” She announces as she approaches the sofa, hoping not to startle him too much. The man’s instincts were sharp, and she was weary of getting a blaster trained on her if she snuck up on him. He sat up quickly though, seemingly already awake. He turned to look over the back of the sofa where she was standing. 

“I’m coming with you.” He responds gruffly, rising to his feet with a metallic clang. 

“Oh yeah? I don’t think Bo-Katan will be happy about that…” She smirks.

“Yeah, well I’ve got better places to be.” 

The two walk out of the room in stride, toward the docking bay. And as Bo-Katan watches Slave 1 disappear from view on the monitor in the bridge, she notices a small cylindrical object left behind on the floor. 


	2. a fix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I think I made... a mistake.” She watches him patiently, waiting for him to continue.  
> “I care about that kid. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving him to the jedi. Now I feel… like it was wrong of me to leave him.” He looks at her with a worried, disdained face that she cannot see.  
> “Maybe it wasn’t wrong exactly, but I regret it. Leaving him.”

Boba Fett seemed just as surprised to have Din Djarin back on his ship, as Din was  _ being  _ there. The last time they had seen each other, Fett was vowing to help break Grogu off of an imperial light cruiser. That day Din’s ship had been completely destroyed, and his child taken from him by the enemy. He had truly lost everything, and yet Fett was convinced he owed  _ Din  _ a debt. It felt much more like the other way around, now. Since the bounty hunter has assisted in his time of need twice. Regardless, Boba Fett is curious as to what changed. Last he heard the mission had gone well, with Gideon’s forces dispelled, and his ship taken. He had assumed that the Mandalorian had been successful in retrieving his child. So when Fett had come back to pick up Fennec, he wasn’t expecting hitchhikers. He had expected the others to seize Gideon’s ship, and move on without them. Even more confusingly, these hitchhikers did in fact not have the child with them. And it seemed like they were trying to escape the light cruiser without the other Mandalorians noticing. Fett was too shocked to deny acting as a taxi service, and now here they are. Sitting together in silence on their way back to the outer rim. 

“Thanks for the ride.” The Mandalorian says to Fett up in the pilot's seat. He receives an agreeatory grunt from the man in response. 

“When I offered Cara a ride back to Nevarro, I did not expect you to come as well.” Fennec chides. Din bristles slightly, feeling guilty and inconveniencing by his indecision. He certainly didn’t want to have to explain himself.

“Well, can you really see him being the leadership type?” Cara teased, as if sensing his apprehension. She figured there was more to it than just that, but her friend likes to keep his private matters private. 

“You’ve got me there, but I don’t think that mando woman was giving you much of a choice.” 

Ah, Fett thinks. That’s why the rush. 

“I do wonder if she’s going to come after you, now.” Cara muses.

“If she has any sense, she will just take the darksaber and return to her planet. There is no need to make this harder than it needs to be.” Din folds his arms over his chest. 

“You’re assuming she has sense?” Cara chuckles, nudging Din playfully. 

Din looks past the both of them toward the cockpit, where Boba Fett sits with his back against them. In front of him, is the vast expanse of hyperspace rushing past the vessel. The flickering lights of passing stars illuminating the ship’s interior. The flashes reflect off of Din’s shiny beskar armor, turning the steel into a mirror. With his arms crossed the various pieces of metal on his body sit against each other. There is a slight tremor to the ship’s hull as it moves at lightspeed, causing Din’s armor to vibrate as the pieces collide. It is the only thing filling the silence now, as the group’s conversation comes to a stop. He uncrosses his arms, uncomfortable being the one that stands out. They sit in amiable silence for quite a long time.

“So, what happened to the kid?” Boba Fett broke the quiet. Subtlety and gentleness not being his strong suits. Cara sits up a little straighter, and shoots Din a glance, unsure of how he will take the question. Din clears his throat awkwardly before finding the words.

“He was returned to the jedi.” The ship lurches to the side for a second before Fett swings the wheel and straightens it out. He turns to look at the group behind him.

“Jedi?” He exclaims. Everyone is taken slightly aback at his tone.

“Yes…” Din starts hesitantly, “The child was separated from the jedi once, and one came to… reclaim him. While we are on Moff Gideon’s ship.” 

“You know of the jedi?” Fennec asks. Boba Fett nods and grumbles back.

“I have had many…  _ unfortunate _ run-ins with the jedi in my day.” At that, Din prickles. He knew that both Fett and the jedi have had tumultuous histories, but the idea of placing Grogu in the hands of someone with any ill intent makes him feel sick. A question hangs in his mind then;  _ Have I done wrong by placing him with the jedi?  _

“Although I was hunting themhim at the time, so perhaps it was deserved.” Fett muses to himself in a grave tone. 

The ship lurches out of hyperspace with a jolt. A large grey planet sits in front of the ship, dotted with clouds of smog and threads of molten orange. They had arrived. 

“You can land your ship outside of the city without any trouble.” Cara says, promising safety for the bounty hunter. He hums slightly and slowly brings the ship down to the surface. As slave 1 approaches the ashen surface, it staggers to a sluggish pace, before dropping down onto the rock. The ship rotates horizontally, leaving the crew swinging in their suspended seats, and lands with a hollow thump.

“Thanks for getting us off that ship.” Cara says as she unbuckles herself from the seat. 

“And for all your help.” Din adds, his boots connecting with the ground. The hatch opening up the ship kicks up a cloud of black as it hits the rocky ground. 

“Thank  _ you _ for the armor, ner vod.” Boba Fett responds as the two walk down the ramp. Fennec tosses a wave their way as well.

“See you around.” 

Slave 1 had landed just outside of the city limits, despite Cara’s guarantee of protection. The sun seemed to be setting on the planet at the time of their arrival. Dim lights were speckled across the horizon, the city peering at the pair from over a pumice hill. Pistons squealed from behind them as the ship’s hatch closed, readying for takeoff. Cara and Din share a glance before starting toward the city, giving slave 1 room to launch.

The walk was somber and unnoteworthy, with nothing but the soft crunch of packed ash under boots to break the silence. They arrived at the town’s entrance just as darkness fell completely, and it was at that point that Din wondered where he was to go. The razor crest was gone, as was his tribe. The city had changed so much in his absence that he couldn’t even wander around the cantina until sunup. He had stopped in his tracks while working through his options, and once again felt a hand on his shoulder. Cara looked at him with concern and understanding, and it was almost overwhelming.

“You can come back to my place.” She offers, but it wasn’t really a question. He nods, and she lowers her arm. She starts down the main drag in town, before turning into an alley. They stop at a modest looking stone home, with a colorful cloth awning over the entrance. The building had a domed roof, and was lined with small windows around the edge of it. Cara unlocks the door, and holds it open for the mandalorian, gesturing for him to enter. He steps in, and stops to look around. The interior of the house was so vastly domestic that he was taken aback. He supposes Cara really had made a home for herself here. It was tidy, but lived in. There were certainly more blasters than trinkets, but that’s what made it truly feel like his friends home. He spots a cushioned bench and table across from a small kitchen, and moves to sit.

“Want something to drink?” Cara asks, walking toward the kitchenette. Din nods, thinking it will sit on the table untouched until he is alone. He watches her pull a bottle from a mounted shelf, it looks like some sort of strange liquor. She sets down two full glasses on the table and sits across from him at the table. 

“What the kriff happened back there?” She asked exasperatedly. He lets out a long sigh, and sets his heavy head on a propped up hand. 

“You have to be more specific.” Cara chuckles lightly at that, because of course that’s what he would say. 

“The kid, the jedi.  _ You.  _ Why are you here, Mando?” His reply is abrupt, and not what she is expecting. _ He didn’t think she’d jump right into it _ . 

“...Close your eyes.” He told her gruffly, and she obliges. There is a shuffling of fabric, and a gulping sound. She opens her eyes at the sound of a glass connecting with the table. It’s empty. She looks up at his emotionless steel face, and there is a slight quiver to his voice when he finally responds to her question. 

“I think I made... a mistake.” She watches him patiently, waiting for him to continue. 

“I care about that kid. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving him to the jedi. Now I feel… like it was wrong of me to leave him.” He looks at her with a worried, disdained face that she cannot see. 

“Maybe it wasn’t wrong exactly, but I regret it. Leaving him.”

“You really bonded with the kid huh?” He nods.

“I think he bonded with you too.” He nods again, and her words do  _ not _ make him feel any better. 

“My mission was to return him to his kind.” She’s not sure why he is trying to talk himself out of it, it seems to her like he already made up his mind. But she will talk him through it anyway. 

“The jedi?” He nods once more. “Then you did your mission.” Din shuffles uncomfortably in his seat. 

“I did… yes. But I don’t feel right about leaving him.”

“That’s understandable.” He looks up. “You’re part of his kind now.”

“The jedi?”

“Family. Kin. Clan, whatever you call it.” She states this as such a fact. It makes Din feel like he should have known this. That’s what all of his feelings have been, haven’t they? 

“A clan of two…” Din mumbles softly. Recounting the Armorer’s words. His heart swells with a dull feeling of longing, and being too full. Cara takes a large swig of her beverage, and catches Din staring at her glass. She stands from the table to fill his empty cup. In between the kitchenette and the dining table, there is a small island where the bottle rests. Transparent liquid tinged slightly purple flows out of the bottle and into the clear glass. Cara sets the glass on the table behind her, then turns back facing the kitchenette. Leaning lazily on the island, waiting for the armored man to indulge in the small comfort. The simple act of respect and thoughtfulness is not lost on Din. The moment he was welcomed into her home, he realized how truly grateful to have a friend in this harsh world. He tipped his helmet up and drank, feeling his chest and throat warm. A tension loosens that he didn’t know he was holding. Cara turns as soon as she hears his helmet settle on his shoulders. Still lounging against the countertop, she shoots him another question. 

“Are you going to find him?” 

“Yes.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard. I mean, how many Jedi and little green kids are there in the galaxy?” Din hums in response. 

“How did you find the other jedi?” She ponders. 

“Bo-Katan.” He answers, and she turns up her nose. 

“Maybe you could ask… Boba Fett? He’s met ‘em.” Din nods slightly, his chin back in his hand on the table. His exhaustion catching up to him once again, this time in the form of drunken drowsiness. Whatever Cara had given him was certainly strong.

“Tomorrow.” He decides. 

“Tomorrow,” Cara repeats quietly, taking a sip from her drink. She looks to her left, where a short hallway leads into two adjacent rooms, and a bathroom on the end. 

“There’s a cot I can set up for you in there.” She motions to the room across from her bedroom. It lays largely in disuse, except for some extra storage. Din wants to argue that he can just stay on the bench, but the alcohol has dulled his usual manners. He never wants to impose, but a real bed  _ does  _ sound pretty great. He nods to her. 

“Washroom’s at the end of the hall, feel free to use it.” Cara adds, while getting up and heading into the spare room to make it liveable. 

Din pulls his aching body up from the table, and wanders into the bathroom. It’s small and without frills, like the rest of the house. He locks the door behind him, and stares at his covered face in the mirror above the sink. The deft features of a mandalorian look back at him. Strong and unchanging, but also cold and lifeless. He removes his gloves and sets them on the counter, bringing his dirty, weathered hands to his face. The helmet slides off and reveals a tired man beneath it. A man with sad brown eyes, and deep purple lines under them from lack of sleep. The face underneath the armor is soft, scruffy, and emotional. He is uncomfortable with his reflection staring back at him after a few moments, and moves to clean himself up and exit the small room. He thinks of Grogu seeing his very human face just hours earlier, and his heart hurts once again. 

Cara has just finished setting up a makeshift bed for the mandalorian, when she hears a voice come from behind the bathroom door. 

“Cara?”

“What’s up?” 

“Do you think the jedi knows how young he is?” Cara leans out of the room into the hallway. The bathroom door opens slowly, revealing Din leaning in the doorway. Back in his usual beskar. 

“I’m sure he figured it out.” She replies.

“What if he has never cared for a toddler before.” Cara is unsure what to do with this blatant show of concern. Comforting others was not something she particularly enjoyed, but she supposed she owed him this. Both for the friendship, and for getting him tipsy. 

“Mando, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. The kid is just fine.” Din lets out a long sigh and nods. Straightening in the doorway and taking a step toward the spare room. As Cara moves toward her own room, he stops and turns back. 

“What if he has  _ pets _ ?” Din says with very real sincerity. Cara lets out a low chuckle. 

“He won’t know they aren’t food.” He continues. She grips the door handle, and slowly pulls the door closed. 

“Goodnight Mando.” She says, while she can still see him through the crack. Cara is too tired to unpack all of that. The mandalorian seems to settle down though, or at least lay quietly in the other room. 

***

In reality it took Din quite a while to drift off. His mind was busy, and the fitful nap he’d had earlier kept him up. He awoke rested though. Bones sore from sleeping in armor, and a headache creeping behind his eyes. But he slept through the night. For the first time in a very long time, Din did not have a direction. He had the semblance of a plan, but it was all of his choosing. It was slightly overwhelming, but he supposed he would just start with breakfast. Breakfast, and then a talk with Boba Fett. 

Cara had left him a meal ration on the kitchen island, with a note next to it. Scrawled in sharp letters was “At the marshal’s office.” Something must have come up with work, he assumed. He was mildly thankful for the ability to eat unencumbered, and sat at the table alone. The morning light filtered into the room through small windows set in the stone. The gold light accented the various pieces of colorful furnishings in the dark home. Absentmindedly, Din worries if Grogu is eating well. 

Eventually Din ends up in the entryway of the marshals office, seeking Cara. It was a short walk from her home, just through town center. She didn’t seem to have any communicators at her home, so he hoped to use the one here. Cara sat at her desk looking down at some documents with a curled frown. Her elbow rested on the table and a hand was threaded through her short hair, holding her head up. She looked up at him as he seemed to break her concentration. 

“Can I use your hypertransceiver?” He asks. 

“Hello to you too.” She smirks, lifting her head and pointing toward a control panel in the corner. “Go for it.” 

Din makes his way over to the machine, its surface littered with keys, buttons and knobs. Attached to it is a hefty looking microphone, and a small monitor. He leans over the board and gets to work. Boba Fett had previously given Din a commlink that connects to the private transmission network that slave 1 operates under. He shoots a message to the ship requesting contact, and a white light begins blinking slowly on the control board. Indicating that the message had been sent, but not received. He turns impatiently to Cara, who still looks like pulling her hair out.

“What's so troubling?”

“Trying to get arrange a New Republic prison transport to pick up Moff Gideon has been a logistical nightmare… And I haven’t even talked to Bo-Katan yet.” She laments. Din did not envy her position.

“Just tell her I ran off or something.” He instructed. It wasn’t even a lie.

“Don’t worry about it.” She responds, clearly already prepared to cover for him. 

Out of the corner of his eye Din sees the flashing light change to green on the subspace transceiver. He holds down the activation button, and begins his message.

“Come in Slave 1, this is the mandalorian.” There is a moment of pause as it is delivered, but a response is received quickly.

“I read you mandalorian, this is Boba Fett. Missed us already?” The bounty hunter’s gruff voice says from the other line.

“I had a question for you Boba Fett.” Din posits. “What do you know of a jedi knight with a green laser sword?” 

“Mmm… Skywalker…” He responds with disdain.

“Skywalker?” Cara interjects loudly. “ _ The  _ Luke Skywalker?” Din can’t help but think that name sounds familiar. 

“The very same.” 

“You know of him?” Din asks Cara with sincerity.

“You don’t?” She looks at him, genuinely shocked. 

“If that is all, I believe I am about to fly out of range.” Boba Fett says.

“Yes, thank you. This is very helpful.” Cara answers for him, ending the connection. She turns back to Din with that same look of astonishment. 

“ _ Luke Skywalker _ . War hero, New Republic legend. The man that blew up the first death star.”

“Are you kriffing with me?” She lets out a bellowing laugh at his expense. 

“Your kid might be in some of the safest hands in the galaxy.” Din didn’t really know what to do with that. It came as a massive relief, obviously, to know Grogu was in good hands. He knew the jedi were powerful, but it seemed their history was so complex. Power and goodness are certainly not one in the same. Ahsoka certainly seemed to know that. Din was infinitely grateful that this Skywalker was one of the good ones. But, this new information raised new concerns. Din’s stomach was already in knots thinking of how his reappearance would be treated by the jedi, knowing what Ahsoka had said about attachments. Now he knew that this jedi was some sort of icon, credited for basically saving the galaxy. How in the dank farrik will he take to some outer rim  _ bounty hunter  _ showing up at his doorstep. It made the mandalorian’s chest feel hollow and stung. He just wanted to be with his kid.

“-And it gets even better.” Cara continues empathically, oblivious to his inner turmoil. “His sister is a Galactic senator.”

“How is that better?”

“It means she’s New Republic, so she’ll be easy for me to track down. And she is your best bet for finding Luke.” Din is speechless. Cara is grinning, and typing quickly into her computer terminal. He supposes he doesn’t have to make a plan now, and is thankful she is doing it for him. He is much better at receiving orders. After a beat, Cara turns her monitor toward him to see the database entry.

“Senator Leia Organa, congressional office in Hanna City on Chandrila.” She relays to him. Din scans the article himself.

“She’s from Alderaan.” He says with surprise. Cara hums in agreement, and it suddenly makes more sense why Cara seems to idolize them so.

“She was a princess.” 

“Some family.” Din says with bemusement, before his mind wanders back to the mission. Nevermind the jedi not wanting to see him, but a senator? The mandalorian is on the New Republic’s watchlist, and certainly couldn’t just waltz into the  _ capital _ . He supposes he wasn’t any more welcome on an imperial starship, but he managed to break onto that too. And truly, there is very little he wouldn’t try to reunite with Grogu.

“How am I supposed to get there?” He wonders aloud, and Cara leans back in her seat. Crossing her arms over her chest in consideration.

“As a marshal for the defense force I was issued a two seat starfighter, and I have the landing clearance for New Republic bases.”

“And me?”

“You’re… security detail. I can say we are here for some bureaucratic bantha-shit, and we can actually go find the senator.” 

“Will that work?” Din worries.

“Do you have any better ideas?” She asks him, smirking and holding her hands out emphatically. He does not, and Cara knows that. 

“I have a few things to finish up here, but we can take off in an hour.” She says. Din proceeds to spend that time pacing around Nevarro city with nervous anticipation. 

Cara met Din at the city's edge, where buildings began to disperse into the charcoal terrain. There is a dust-caked landing pad with a starfighter shaped sheet sitting atop it. Cara pulls the cover off a modest looking ship, tossing it to the side. The two board the ship unceremoniously, and ready for takeoff. The engines hum beneath the pair in the cockpit, as it lifts from the ground slowly, and turns toward the sky. Cara looks at her mandalorian friend.

“Ready?” He nods, and the ship lurches away from the planet below. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading :>


	3. a reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While he still felt slightly in the dark, what the woman was doing for him was beyond kind. He felt dizzy as he moved to exit her office, floating along in the wake of astonishment. He would be with Grogu again soon.

Chandrila is a verdant world in the core systems. It stands out in the dark of space with vibrant blues, greens, and whites. It shimmers with the covering of a planet-wide defense shield, several space stations in the atmosphere acting as filters for the landing ships. The massive ringed checkpoints sit suspended against the field, open in the middle to allow entrance. A small starfighter approaches the behemoth base, the pilot attempting to send it a transmission. 

“Cara Dune of the New Republic Defense Force, requesting permission to enter.” There is a long pause, and the fighter slows its course, floating gently above the station. Then, a staticky voice comes over the transceiver.

“Entrance permitted, proceed to Hanna City launchpad 267.” It instructs. Cara angles the ship downward, and it begins its descent through the barrier.

“Proceeding to LP 267 as instructed.” She sends back. 

From the vantage point of the ship, Cara and Din could see the entirety of the city, and its surrounding region. It sat on the edge of a cliffside, stretching down the mountain. The valley below was segmented into homes and gardens. Past the settled area, were lush forests and more vast mountain ranges. The entire horizon threaded with clear streams and rivers. It was beautiful, and so unlike the volcanic planet Nevarro. 

The City itself was gleaming. Massive silver buildings stuck out into the sky like monoliths. Running in between the pillars were interconnected light rails, and speeder traffic. The edges of the city, moving down the mountain, left space for landing strips. They were elevated on stilts above public parks and residences. The bustling metropolis exuded  _ life _ . 

Cara brings the ship down to land on a circular concrete launchpad with a massive yellow “267” painted on it. She flips a couple of switches on the control panel, and the engines sputter to a halt as the ship powers down. The fighter’s glass hatch opens up to the warm Chandrilian breeze, and she hoists herself out of the cockpit. Turning to face her copilot, she offers him a hand. He accepts it wordlessly, and the two make their way down. A long, intricate set of walkways connect the other parked ships, and then stretches into town. A shuttle seems to run through the landing strips and different sectors of Hanna City, but the two just start walking down the sidewalk. 

“I think the political district is northeast from here.” Cara says, as they start to reach buildings. The city is loud in a way that Din had never experienced before. He is used to the volume of overpopulated cities, but darker, danker spaces. The loudness of tension and illicit affairs. The underbelly of where he is now, where things go to hide. Hanna City is bright and vibrant. Full of voices and smooth machinery. The streets are littered with people from all over the galaxy, from all walks of life. Din and Cara weave in between citizens, ventors, and streetside greenery on their mission to the capitol building.

The capitol building stands as one of the largest structures around. A shining metal skyscraper, covered in windows and flags of various shapes and colors. It is the home of many different planetary leaders, and certainly looks like a multicultural hub. Tall glass double doors lead into an unassuming lobby. A woven runner leads from the entrance to a secretaries desk where a young togruta woman sits. The sides of the room are home to many couches, and various people waiting for appointments. Cara and Din share a concerned glance on their way to the secretary. Their plan had gotten them this far, but this is basically where it ends. Din hopes Cara will take the lead. 

Fortunately enough, Cara approaches the check in desk and greets the togruta woman. 

“Hello… I have an appointment to speak with senator Organa this afternoon?” The secretary gives a kind smile in response and begins typing on her computer. 

“Of course, and what was your name ma’am?” She asks. Din takes a very small step behind Cara.

“Uh, Cara Dune?” She says. The secretary furrows her brows and hums in confusion.

“I’m not seeing a Cara Dune, are you sure you are on the schedule today?” Cara’s composure ever so slightly starts to dwindle.

“I actually scheduled the appointment with her personally… So it might not be on her calendar. She knows I’m coming though… so…” Cara gestures slightly toward the elevator. 

“Oh, then let me just check with the senator then.” The young woman says, moving to hold down a comm button.

“That's not… really necessary.” Cara mumbles quietly, obviously starting to sweat. She is cut off by the secretary talking through the comms. 

“Hello Senator Organa I have a woman here saying she has a meeting with you this afternoon. Yes I know you don’t have any meetings scheduled. Yes I asked them- I uh- A uh… Ms. Cara Dune, and a... mandalorian? Yes, a mandalorian. Send them… Are you sure Mrs. Organa? Okay. They’ll be right up.” The secretary seems slightly rattled by the conversation, when the connection ends. She sits up straighter in her seat, and points toward the elevator.

“Senator Organa’s office is on the 5th floor to the left.” She says with a cordial smile. Cara and Din share another glance then, one of confusion and mild concern. But Cara thanks the secretary anyway, and they head to the elevator. Once the metal doors close, Din speaks.

“What was _ that _ ?” Cara lets out a nervous laugh, and rubs the back of her neck with her hand.

“I guess we’ll find out.”

The elevator doors open with a hiss, and the pair look out onto a 5th floor hallway. It splits into a fork, and on each side are rows of offices. Opaque glass doors with ornate detailing and gold name plates separate the rooms. They step out of the elevator, and start hesitantly down the leftmost hallway, scanning the doors and looking for the right name. Cara stops abruptly at a door. “Leia Organa-Solo” it says in intimidating bold letters. Din takes a deep breath. He has bested a krayt dragon, but talking to a  _ politician _ rattles him. 

“Do we knock?” He asks gruffly. The two of them lurking outside of the door. Cara almost jumps out of her skin when she hears a voice come from inside the room.

“Come in.” A calm voice requests. 

They push the door open and enter the spacious office. A woman in her late twenties stands from behind a desk across from them. She has an intricate bun atop her head, and wears a regal looking deep teal pantsuit. She radiates a commanding presence that soaks up the room. 

“Good afternoon. I believe it is quite fortunate that the two of you seem to have turned up at my doorstep.” She addresses the two of them, standing up straight with her hands clasped together at her waist. 

“Firstly, Cara Dune. I would like to personally thank you for aiding in the apprehension of the imperial  _ terrorist _ Moff Gideon. The New Republic is lucky to have you.” Cara looks flushed next to Din. He had never seen the strong woman look so docile in the face of authority. 

“Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to have a word with the mandalorian in private.” Leia asserts, waiting patiently for Cara to awkwardly make her exit.

“Ah, um, yes.” She muttered on her way out. Now, it was just Din and Leia in the room, and no amount of beskar could protect him from her gaze. 

“Do you… know me?” Din couldn’t help but ask. She smiles slightly.

“I know  _ of  _ you.” 

“From the New Republic?” He asks wearily.

“From my brother.” She responds with that same smile. Din is taken aback.

“What?” 

“I am not entirely sure what transpired between you and him, but I do know this saves him the trouble of looking for you.” She states plainly, and Din feels wholly left out.

“ _ I’m _ looking for  _ him _ .”

“I should certainly hope so, he has your son, yes?” Leia asks.

“Yes.” Din mutters. Leia gives an exasperated sigh, and brings her hand to her head.

“My brother is always rushing into things without thinking. I apologize for this mess, and I will try to get it sorted for you quickly.” The senator’s long delicate earrings sway as she turns her face back to the man. 

“I can arrange a discreet transport to take you to his location. Security is of the utmost importance, so I would appreciate not mentioning it to your companion.” Din can only nod in disbelieving gratitude.

“Thank you, Senator Organa.” His tinny voice rasped from underneath the helmet, and she smiles at him warmly once again. 

“There is a private dock on the roof of the building, I will have a friend prepare the ship and escort you. Meet him at the top floor at your earliest convenience.” Din nodded once more, feeling weightless. While he still felt slightly in the dark, what the woman was doing for him was beyond kind. He felt dizzy as he moved to exit her office, floating along in the wake of astonishment. He would be with Grogu again soon.

“It was nice to meet you, mister mandalorian.” Leia adds softly as he grips the door handle. He turns back to her.

“You as well, madam senator.” 

Cara is leaning against the wall in the hallway with her arms crossed, when Din joins her. Her eyes grow wide and she gives him a shocked and giddy expression.

“ _ What  _ was  _ that? _ ” She grinned.

“She’s going to help me.” Din answers with shaky certainty.

“That’s great!” Cara exclaims, placing a hand on his arm as they start to walk toward the elevator. 

“Thank you for all of your help, Cara.” He says as they step in.

“You’ve got it from here, then?” She asks.

“I think so.” He replies, leaning to push the elevator button for the top floor.

“Well, I’ll be around if you need anything. You have my comm link.” She pushes the opposite button for the bottom floor. He nods at her while the elevator moves to send them in separate directions. Din steps out first, giving Cara a curt wave as he exits.

“Good luck Mando.” She says as the metals doors close. 

The top floor of the capitol building is small, consisting of a corridor that leads out onto a landing platform. That hallway seems to have a few doors that lead to various maintenance closets, and a small sitting room. Presumably used as a waiting room for incoming transports. There are several comfortable looking seats, and a line of vending machines in the back. One such machine catches Din’s eye as he makes his way down the hall. He approaches it, and produces a few loose credits from a pouch in his belt. In exchange, the machine drops a silver sleeve of familiar blue cookies, which Din tucks away for later. A firm pull on his heartstrings reminds him of how much Grogu enjoyed them. Despite how the child might feel about his disappearance and reappearance, hopefully he will like these. 

The large opaque glass doors at the end of the hall, open out to a large flat roof. The sun shines brightly on the top of the building, reflecting sharply off of the objects resting on it. A fairly innocuous looking cruiser sits on the landing pad, with a golden protocol droid standing in front of it. The mandalorian stiffens in the presence of the droid.  _ Was this the friend?  _ He wonders. 

“Ah, hello! I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations. Master Leia has instructed me to be your escort.” The droid says, approaching Din mechanically. 

“Great.” He states flatly. 

A hatch drops from the transport cruiser with a whir, and the droid hobbles up the ramp. Din follows him into the sleek interior of the ship. The ramp leads into a modest cabin, with seating in the center, and a cockpit at the front. C-3PO plops down into the drivers seat, and begins connecting with the navigation controls. The ship is brought to life as the hatch closes. The engines spur on, and the interior lights shine bright in a flurry of beeps. 

“Please seat yourself and prepare for takeoff.” The droid says back to the armored man. Din does not sit down, but instead holds onto the side of the ship tensely. The cruiser hovers off the ground, and angles itself toward the sky.

“Where exactly are we going?” Din asks dryly.

“I apologize, I have been expressly instructed not to disclose our exact destination. I  _ can _ tell you we will arrive in 2 standard hours and 18 minutes, if travel is smooth.” C-3PO says with exuberant pride. Din hums in response. 

The cruiser flies smoothly through the planetary gate, and moves off into free space.

“Now entering hyperspace.” The golden droid announces as the ship lurches to lightspeed. Din leans against the cabin’s side, and settles in for the flight.

As it turns out, the protocol droid was not programmed to obey social queues, and did not enjoy the mandalorian’s silence. He chose to incessantly chatter to fill the void in the ship. 

“I have to say it is nice to travel without R2D2 critiquing my flying.” He talks to himself. “The masters rarely give me such a task.” Din was simultaneously annoyed and grateful for the noise. He cared very little for the droid’s gripping, but at least he was not alone with his thoughts. The farther away they got from Chandrila the more his heart rate seemed to speed up. The thought of getting closer to the child was terrifying and exciting. It made him feel cold and sick, hiding inside of the heavy beskar armor. He was going to reunite with the child, sure, but what of the jedi? Senator Organa claimed that there had been some misunderstanding with him. When he spoke with Ahsoka, she had expressed her concerns with jedi in training having too strong attachments. She refused to train the child because of it. Had the jedi come to the same realization, and rescinded his offer? He supposes it wouldn't be for the worst if the child is returned to him. But what a horrible experience for Grogu to be denied his culture. And if it wasn’t a matter of attachment, wouldn’t Din be proving that to be an issue by showing up this way? Needless to say, his stomach sat in knots as the ship rattled along.

In front of the droid is a massive window displaying the vortex of hyperspace. The swirling blue and white fades into a litany of stars as the ship jumps out of lightspeed. Framed in the window is a small planet. Some sort of moon, colored in greens and browns. 

“We have arrived, my mandalorian friend.” C-3PO says as the cruiser is lowered down into the atmosphere. The droid seemed to be bringing them down into a dense forest, and Din started to get worried for the landing. Yet C-3PO manages to find an opening in the underbrush, and the ship settles onto a mossy brick landing pad. Through the cruiser’s window, Din notices another ship sitting in the clearing. A familiar looking x-wing. 

Through the hissing of the ramp dropping to the ground, the mandalorian hears a pronounced squealing sound. His heart felt like it completely stopped in his chest, his breath stolen. He knows that sound. That is the excited coo of his son, and it’s coming right for him. C-3PO says something behind Din, but he doesn’t hear it. The armored man had vaulted off of the hatch before it even touched the ground, making a b-line towards the sound. His legs are moving on his own, armor clanking against itself with a lightness he hasn’t felt in days. Din gasps when he sees the tiny green child making his way to the cruiser on oh-so-little legs. The mandalorian bounds across the stone drive, dropping to his knees as he approaches the kid. His knee-plates collide with the ground with a hearty clunk, and Din extends his arms to Grogu. Grogu hobbles as quickly as he can into Din’s open arms, and is immediately scooped up and held tightly to his armored chest. Tears prick Din’s eyes as he listens to the toddler babble at him emphatically. It is the best sound he has ever heard. 

“Hey buddy…” He says ever so quietly, voice breaking on the last syllable. The ecstatic kid places his tiny hands on Din’s lowered head. Gripping the bottom of his beskar helmet and pulling it up with childlike glee. In that moment all Din Djarin can think about is how he will never let his son go again. He sits kneeling on the hard ground, child clasped tightly in his arms. Metal helmet lifted just enough to expose a massive smile, and tears settling on a stubbled chin. 

The sound of hurried footsteps rouses the two from their moment. Din lets his helmet fall back to his shoulders as he looks up. A panting blonde jedi approaches the pair, slowing to a walking pace. The man’s hair fell into his face as he ran, and bright blue eyes peered at them through the sandy curtain. He was in similar black robes as when Din encountered him on the ship.

“Hah, uh, hello.” The jedi says through heavy breaths. Din clears his throat, and stands up from the ground, still holding the child in his arms.

“He sensed your presence and took off from the temple. I didn’t know he could move so fast.” He explains. Din feels his face growing warm in the aftermath of his outburst, uncomfortable that the jedi has seen him in this state twice now. 

“Hello.” The mandalorian says gravely, his throat feeling raw. He sees something very small shift in the jedi’s expression as he speaks, and then he holds his hand out.

“Luke Skywalker,” He introduces himself. Din shuffles Grogu to free up a hand, and begins to raise it-

“Master Luke! It is so good to see you.” A loud robotic voice announces behind the mandalorian, causing him to jump back instinctually. He had completely forgotten about the droids' presence. 

“It's good to see you too 3PO.” Luke says with a slightly exasperated tone. He moves his extended hand to gesture behind him, where a weathered path leads up to a large building shrouded in greenery.

“Please, join me in the temple. I think we have a lot to talk about.” He says, taking a step down the path, encouraging the group to follow. Grogu begins to babble loudly as they walk up to the cobblestone drive. Din nods with every string of nonsense, and Luke chuckles softly next to them.

“He has a lot to tell you.” Luke observes, and Din thinks of how Ahsoka was able to communicate with the child. 

“Can you understand him?” Din asks, and Luke nods.

“Yes. He’s missed you.” The mandalorian’s heart constricts at the sentence, and he doesn’t speak again until they reach the temple. 

The overgrown path winds up a small hill and deep into the dense forest. A thick canopy of leaves filters the sunlight into speckles, and covers the sky. Even as the group approaches a large clearing of trees, the branches still snake to lap up the sun. The temple sat in this dome of foliage. It was an ornate stone structure that looked to be consumed by greenery. The moss covered building had an intricate facade, containing embellished pillars and molding. The structure consisted of an interior building, with modern looking doors and windows set in the ancient stone, and a large covered walkway that stretched around the sanctuary. The porch opened up the temple to the lush world outside. The historical site was a wonder to behold. It looked both sacred and lived in. An archaic space peppered with modern touches. 

Worn stone sculptures sat on either side of the walkway at the edge of the clearing, acting as an entryway. The rocky path continues right up to the temple. Luke stops at the threshold and surveys the area.

“This place was a jedi temple many centuries ago.” Luke tells them. “I’ve sort of moved in since then.” 

Grogu twists in Din’s arms to face the building, stretching his little arms out and making an excited noise. Din couldn’t understand the child’s thoughts like the jedi, but he often felt like he did. The small child was raised in temples like this, and was happy to be home. 

“3PO, can you please get us some tea?” Luke requests the droid. 

“Of course, master Luke.” C-3PO says, sounding pleased. He wanders through the front door of the temple, leaving the others alone for the moment. The wide stone porch that wraps around the building is raised slightly, and Luke sits down on the edge of it. Feet still resting on the grass. Din stands in front of him with the child in hand. He is prepared for the worst. Prepared to be told that the jedi will not train the child. 

“I believe I owe you an apology.” Luke starts, and a wave of confusion washes over the mandalorian. 

“I misunderstood your relationship to Grogu when we first met. If I had known- I would have never separated the child from his father. Especially at such a young age.” He says with a lowered head. “Grogu told me all about your journey, and I regret to think you were only traveling companions.”

“So you aren’t going to train him.” Din sighs long and heavy underneath the metal helmet. Luke stands up with a concerned expression. 

“What?” He exclaims with a furrowed brow. “The child has a powerful connection to the force, it would be unwise to let him go untrained.” 

Din supports Grogu with one palm and gestures with the other. 

“But you are returning him to me.” He states flatly. 

“I thought we could come to some sort of arrangement.”

“Arrangement?”

“Grogu deserves to learn about his culture, and retain his connection to his family, don’t you think?” Luke proposes with an open expression. Din is speechless. This conversation is  _ nothing  _ like the one he had had with Ahsoka, and he has no idea what to say.  _ Of course _ he wanted to stay with Grogu.  _ Of course _ . But he didn’t expect the jedi to feel so strongly about it as well. 

“Yeah,” Din squeaks out softly. 

In that moment, Luke’s mind is churning to understand and amend their situation. There is so much he doesn’t get about the other man. Why he allowed Luke to take the child, and what the other was doing by returning. He seemed to be very off base with his assumption of negotiating the child’s care. The force swirled in and around his mind as he thought about the mandalorian. Looking at him now, swaths of energy radiated off of the armored man like a swift stream. It melded with the atmosphere around them, absorbed by the constant flow of the force. Luke reached out to the sense, and was met with such an overflow of emotion. The waves of feeling washed over Luke like a tide, and the man in front of him suddenly became much less complicated. His impulsive actions guided by one singular thought, that bowled over the jedi. The mandalorian was a man who just learned to love, and everything else came as an afterthought. He was both inexperienced, and so, so grounded in it, and that is why he was here. Out of the complex and newfound love for his son. And that was when Luke became absolutely _fascinated_ with the mandalorian. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i genuinely think din is fascinating as a character and im so excited we are getting to the good stuff. he's super fun to explore. also i changed the chapter count and titles shh don't tell anybody


	4. bonus: a few days prior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A phone call that transpires between the Skywalker siblings a few days prior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all! next chapter is probably going to take me a minute, because these are not written in advance lol. anyway here's this to tie you over until then. side note: i wrote this before realizing that ben would actually be like 4 around this time, but i think it makes it funnier lmao. side-side note: in my version of canon leia did finish her jedi training. because... i said so. thanks for reading!

Leia Organa-Solo sat behind her large desk in the capitol building, mindlessly scanning documents. Her work was interrupted by an incoming call on her personal comm link, from a private channel.  _ Luke,  _ she thinks, before pressing the receivers button with a manicured finger. 

“Hey Leia-“ Luke starts immediately. “-so, before I get into this, can you make sure there’s some like, baby food, on tomorrow’s supply ship? Just- whatever you usually get for Ben.” 

“ _ What? _ ” She blurts, genuinely shocked. “ _ Baby food? _ ” 

“Yeah.” He clarifies. It’s obvious he is distracted, probably flying, on the other line. 

“Luke, why in the force do you need  _ baby food? _ ” She exclaims. 

“I may have-“ There is a shuffling sound and a strange coo. “-acquired a young pupil.” Leia is speechless. 

“Do you remember that strange feeling we got the other day, like someone was calling out for a jedi master? Well, I followed it into the middle of deep space, and some mandalorian handed me a force-sensitive toddler.” He explains, like he sounds totally sane. “Oh and you won’t believe who he looks like-“ 

“ _ Some mandalorian _ ?” She interrupts him.

“Yeah, a real handsome guy in armor, but that’s not-- it gets worse” Leia holds her head in her hands with exasperation. 

“I think that was the kid’s dad.” He says. 

“What do you mean  _ you think?! _ ” She exclaims. 

“The kid definitely says that’s his dad.” Luke backpedals. Leia can picture his expression perfectly, nervously sweating and grinning his way through the explanation. Clearly knowing he is in deep shit. 

“ _ Kriff _ , Luke, you just took this child from his father?” 

“I didn’t know it was his kid! They look nothing alike! The guy just handed him off!” There is a beat of silence where they both process the situation. “I have got to find him.” 

“You sure do!” Leia emphasizes. 

“Ohhh force, Leia what do I do?”

“Act like an adult, that’s what. And try to keep the kid alive.”

“Yeah, okay. Will you keep an eye out for any mandalorians while I try to figure this out?” He asks meekly. 

“I  _ guess _ .” She says sarcastically.


	5. something new

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You could stay here for the time being.” He extends the offer like an open hand, but is unsure if the mandalorian will try to take it this time.

Din Djarin and Luke Skywalker sat together on the edge of the porch. The mandalorian’s silver beskar was dotted with spots of sunlight, that shone down through the thick canopy of leaves. The tinted visor on his helmet faced the other man. A man with dusty blonde hair, and an inexplicably open expression. He looked at the mandalorian like he knew him, and the weight of his gaze made his armor feel heavy. A small green child with wide eyes sat on the ground by their feet. He leaned against Din’s boot, clutching handfuls of soft grass with little 3 fingered hands. He entertained himself happily on the lawn, but adamantly stayed by his father’s side. 

“I believe some system of shared custody would work well for Grogu. Where he can stay with you, but visit for periods of time and receive training from me.” Luke explains to Din. That sounded great to Din, in theory. 

“I’ve kept this place’s location a secret for many years, but I would be willing to give you the coordinates for the child’s transport.” Luke continues. Din leans back against a stone pillar that suspends the roof that covers the porch, and crosses his arms. 

“I don’t exactly have a ship right now.” He grumbles. Luke turns his gaze toward the child. 

“Oh? Grogu told me all about your...  _ Razor Crest _ , was it? What happened?” Din looks off into the distance. 

“It was destroyed.” He says flatly, trying to hide the sadness in his voice. It was just a ship, but it had been his home for so many years. 

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure Leia or I could find you another ship.” Luke offers. Din hums lowly in response. It is a reverberating sound inside of the hollow metal. Something clicks in Luke’s mind then, and he asks: 

“Is that why you let me take the child? Because you had nowhere to return to?” The energy around them shifts as the words leave Luke’s mouth. The force carries a somber feeling now, like the jedi got it right. Like the subject had a weight to it Luke hadn’t anticipated. 

“Partially.” The mandalorian responds vacantly. 

Below them, the small child coos with delight. He has a large beetle grasped in his clawed hands. Din leans down to the grass and holds out his palm to the toddler. 

“Kid, we talked about this. Don’t eat things you find on the ground.” The child’s large ears drop dejectedly as he places the bug in the mandalorian’s gloved hand. He lets out a small whine as the man relocates it onto the porch, and lets it crawl away. Watching the brief act had caused Luke to completely forget what they were talking about. His next words tumble out unexpectedly as he peers into Din’s tinted visor. 

“You could stay here for the time being.” He extends the offer like an open hand, but is unsure if the mandalorian will try to take it this time. Din is stunned silent, trying to process it all. The last place he had been welcomed into was Sorgan, all of those months ago. The people of the quiet fishing village had asked him to stay, and he turned them down. Din had been moving around all his life, especially now that he traveled with Grogu. The kid seemed to invite trouble, and was often being sought after by others. But this place was different from Sorgan. It was hidden, and almost completely desolate. The only inhabitant Din knew of, was the jedi himself. The villagers on Sorgan were put at risk by Grogu and the mandalorian’s presence. They could not protect themself against the marauders that followed the pair. But Luke had proven he could handle himself in a fight, and Din had trusted the jedi  _ before  _ to protect the child alone. The mandalorian looks down at the toddler in the grass, who gazed up at him with warm eyes. Grogu seemed completely at home here, and Din so desperately didn’t want to leave the child again. He would be a fool to say no out of pride, and besides Cara’s, he didn’t have anywhere else to go. 

“I—uh. I don’t know...” He mutters gruffly, leaning down to pluck Grogu off the ground with deft gentleness. He turns to look at the jedi once more, and swears the man can see his eyes. He keeps managing to peer right into them. 

“There are plenty of empty rooms, it really wouldn’t be any trouble.” Luke insists. Grogu looks up at his father in earnest, his wrinkled little face pulled into a grin. He pats his hands on Din’s chest plate in a fury of tiny tapping sounds. 

“Yeah. Okay.” The mandalorian says to Luke and his son. 

As Luke opens his mouth to respond, the door to the temple opens, and a familiar robotic voice rings out. 

“Master Luke, you certainly need to reorganize your pantry! I searched high and low and could not find the tea anywhere!” C-3PO announces. Luke’s expression falls, and he turns to face the droid. 

“I’m  _ sure _ it’s in there 3PO, I just got a supply shipment yesterday.” He says. The droid seemed to sigh, and turn back inside. 

“I suppose I will check again.” He chides as the door closes. Luke turns to Din with an incredulous look. 

“I don’t actually have any tea.” He says with a sideways grin. This takes the mandalorian completely by surprise, and he lets out a snort.  _ He annoys the jedi too _ , Din thinks. 

“He gets huffy when I ask him to power down.” Luke explains further, feeling a very strange sort of pride that he managed to amuse the other man, who had been so somber since he arrived.

“ _ Of course _ he does.” Din responds. Luke rests one hand on the ground and props himself up from the porch. He leans back into a stretch as he stands, and runs a hand over the back of his neck. 

“In any case, let me show you around the temple before he comes back.” He says, and the mandalorian gets up to follow him.

The temple was a lot larger than Din had originally thought. And it seemed the derelict building had been renovated very selectively over the years. The original facade was maintained wherever it still stood. Instead of a broken wall being replaced, the cracks or missing pieces were replaced with new material. It created a really interesting dichotomy between ancient and modern architecture. Hiding within the grey and green structure, were pieces of new silver, attempting to maintain the integrity. The temple was also not just one large building, but a network of buildings all interwoven in the forest. The porch that Din had sat on, stretched around each structure, connecting all of them as an outdoor corridor. The buildings were separated by various courtyards, and outdoor training fields. Most of which were not nearly as manicured as the front drag. In fact, the farther away from the frontmost building you got, the worse the state of disrepair. The back of the complex consisted of crumbling dormitories, common rooms, and libraries. Some of the buildings had only a foundation left, covered in overgrowth.

The frontmost building was obviously where Luke lived, and the inside had been the most refurbished and modernized. The right wing of the building consisted of several storerooms, a kitchen and dining room, a large living area, and several bedrooms. The left wing led to a small library, and a massive sanctuary space. 

When the group arrived back at the living quarters, they found that C-3PO had shut himself down in their absence. They also found that it was starting to grow dark. 

“Some of the bedrooms are made up for when my sister’s family visits.” Luke says to Din, as they stand amongst couches and soft orange light. Luke gestures to the hallway that leads to the right wing.

“Feel free to take your pick. I’m going to see if I can find anything for dinner.” The jedi says. Din nods and starts down the hall. A colorful runner covers the polished brick floor, and leads to a row of closed doors. Din picks one at random, and pushes it open. It is a reasonably sized rectangular space. A large bed adorned with woven blankets sits against the wall in the center of the room. It faces the other wall, which contains a built in wardrobe and closet system, and a door Din can only assume leads to a bathroom. Large windows cover the back wall of the room, with a door in the middle. The room leads out to an outdoor walkway that connects all of the adjacent bedrooms. Thick blue curtains pool in the corners of the back wall, waiting to be unfurled and engulf the windows.

Din takes a step inside, and his footsteps seem to echo in the quiet space. He immediately closes the curtains, and the light of dusk disappears from the room entirely. He then moves to carefully set Grogu down on top of the bed, and lays down face first next to him. Weighed down by heavy beskar, he sinks into the plush material. Din lets out a deep sigh, feeling the last few days roll off of him as he sits there with his son. He turns his helmet to face the small child, who looked snug and content in his large brown frock. They lie there comfortably for quite some time, but then Grogu moves closer. His little 3-fingered hand presses against the T-shaped visor on Din’s helmet, blocking his vision. The child pats the helmet repeatedly, and the mandalorian knows just what he wants. 

“Okay, okay. Now is alright, but I can’t do this all the time.” Din whispers. The toddler had wanted to see his father’s face again since the moment they reunited. He sits up slightly and slides the helmet off his head. The mandalorian can’t help but feel wholly exposed when he does this. The hair on the back of his neck stands on end as he looks at the child with his bare eyes. He rests his head back on the covers, cheek pressed against the soft blankets. Grogu’s eyes light up and he chirps with delight, smiling, and placing a small hand on Din’s nose. The mandalorian closes his eyes comfortably for a moment. But, only a moment. 

“—Ack— buddy,  _ please _ .” Din scoffs as he brings a hand up to remove Grogu’s grip from his scruffy mustache. The child grins like the goblin he is, incredibly pleased with being able to yank on his father’s facial hair. 

Din lets out a dry chuckle and rolls onto his back. The spear strapped to it jabbed into his shoulder blades, and he runs a gloved hand over his face. All of the present changes will definitely take an adjustment period, but  _ this _ he will happily get used to. 

The mandalorian enters the kitchen later with the toddler in tow. His beskar helmet once again sat on his shoulders. The kitchen was overwhelmingly normal for the strange house. A large window faced the entryway across the room, looking out into the dark woods. The kitchen stretched across the right wall, the left had an opening into the dining room, and was lined with storage. A long island sat in the middle of the room, with a row of seating on one side. Two trays of pre-prepared food sat on the island, one much smaller than the other. Din moved to grab them, and noticed the jedi sitting in the dining room alone, fiddling with an astromech droid. He looks up at the pair. 

“I didn’t know what the little one likes to eat.” He says. 

“Everything.” The mandalorian says with sincerity. Luke laughs warmly and turns back toward the droid. 

“Noted.” He adds. 

Din grabs both of the metal trays with one hand, and heads back to the bedroom. 

***

Luke wakes early the next morning to a strange scratching sound. He squints through the bright sun, and sits up in his bed. He rubs his bleary eyes and listens intently, the sound continuing once more. It seemed to be coming from down the hall. While the jungle moon he lives on has its fair share of active flora and fauna, it usually stays  _ outside  _ of the temple. He reaches out to the force, trying to ascertain if it is worth getting up for. The energy field convinces him  _ yes _ . He pulls the covers off himself and cinches the tied belt on his robes. The stone floor is incredibly cold on bare feet as he steps off of the rug, and out into the hall. The repetitive scraping noise brings the jedi to the doorstep of a bedroom in the middle of the corridor. The bedroom his mandalorian houseguest was in. He sensed that the other man was still asleep, and he decided the sound was likely coming from the child. As Luke stood there deciding whether or not he wanted to disturb the sleeping warrior, the knob began to turn on its own. The door slowly crept open, predictably revealing the small child on the floor. His hand was outstretched into the air, and it was clear he had used the force to make himself an exit. He looked up at the jedi expectantly. Through the crack in the door Luke could see part of the mandalorian’s resting form. Laying on top of the covers, blasters and armor and all. The two empty dining trays he had given them the night before sat on the floor in disuse. 

Grogu raised his other arm to the jedi, obviously asking to be lifted. Luke obliged and carefully pulled the door closed. He props the child in his arms and tries to tap into what he might need. The kid’s mind is aflutter with many convoluted thoughts. He caught mention of the mandalorian quite a bit, but also hunger, and a feeling of restlessness. The toddler was just ready to be awake, he supposes, and takes him off to the kitchen to find some breakfast. 

Several hours later, the jedi sat cross legged on the smooth floor of the temple's sanctuary. He still wore the clothes he had slept in. A loose fitting light grey robe, and slim matching trousers. His eyes were closed, and he sat across from his young padawan. They meditated in silence, basking in the warm sunlight that shone down from massive cathedral-like windows. The sanctuary was a large room with high, vaulted ceilings. It had several archways that opened out to an ornate patio. The lack of doors allowed the breeze to flow freely through the room. This space lived and breathed with the two jedi. It was tailor made to invoke a connection with nature, and with the force. Luke and the child had spent the past few mornings clearing their minds in the space. Though, their tranquility was broken by heavy footsteps, and threads of emotion bleeding into their calm environment. Grogu got up fast, large eyes wide with concern. The armored mandalorian barged into the room with blaster in hand, absolutely seething energy. He radiated fear and concern, but the wave was expelled from him as soon as he spotted the child on the floor. He sheathed his blaster quickly, and Luke felt flecks of shame float into the air around them. Grogu waddled over to his father quickly, wrapping his little body around the man's boot. He leaned down to pat the child’s head. Din sighed heavily. 

“You’ve gotta let me know before you take off, kid.” Luke sensed that there were many layers to that sentence. He gets up and looks toward the mandalorian. 

“I apologize, Grogu woke me up early, and we’ve been out here all morning.” He says. 

“You’re fine, don’t worry about it. Go back to your jedi stuff.” Din says, giving Grogu a little pat on the back, guiding him back toward Luke. Luke brushes his hands off on his shirt, and walks toward the pair. 

“I think we are probably done here anyways.” He says. 

The mandalorian and the jedi spend the rest of the day figuring out how to navigate around each other. It was painfully obvious neither had lived with another person in quite some time, and they were both very unsure how to go about themselves. Although it was only the first day, they were both falling into habits. That day was full of uncertainty and caution, but it also had a nervous finality to it. Luke didn’t seem like he was going to change his offer, and Din wasn’t changing his answer, so he had to settle in. 

The two loners went about their day separately, converging periodically to pass over the child. By the end of the day Grogu had meditated twice, explored deep into the forest with his father, and begun studying up on some of the tenants of the jedi order. Or rather, having them read to him. Luke sat on the large sectional in the living room, talking to the kid in a calm voice about some ancient history. The jedi is gazing off out the window, and doesn’t notice that Grogu is not paying a lick of attention. The mandalorian enters the room to see his kid picking at the paneling of Luke’s little blue astromech droid, which is parked next to the couch. The droid beeps warningly at the toddler, and Din approaches the two from behind the sofa. Luke’s concentration is broken by the disappointed squeal the child lets out, as his father picks him up abruptly. The jedi looks up to see the mandalorian relocate Grogu to a different part of the couch, away from the droid.

“Pay attention.” He says sternly, patting the kid on the head as he sets him back on the sofa. Din rests a gloved hand on his hip and mutters through his heavy helmet.

“I hope he didn’t give you too much trouble before I got here.”

“Compared to my 4 year old nephew, he was a delight.” Luke grinned, and Din snorts. He turns toward the child and Grogu faces him with a smirk.

“A delight?” He jeers, and the child coos at him in response. The mandalorian’s tone is full of faux disbelief. “ _ Sure _ .”

Grogu sticks out his little tongue at the armored man, he scoffs and turns to leave them to their work. Luke wonders if he is smiling under his helmet. 

***

The following day, Din sat on the colorfly adorned bed in Luke’s spare bedroom, with his blaster in his lap. He was polishing it, and performing basic maintenance, to make up for its lack of use as of late. There is a brisk knock on the closed door, and he turns toward the sound.

“Come in.” He says gruffly. Luke nudges the door open and glaces at the mandalorian.

“I was wondering if you would help me with a... demonstration.” The jedi asks, running a nervous hand through his scruffy hair. Din sets down his blaster on the bed beside him, and stands.

“What kind of demonstration?” He utters in response. Luke points to the discarded gun.

“You’ll actually need  _ that _ .” He says. As he stands in the doorway, Grogu toddles in from the hallway, looking up at the two adults. Luke looks down at the child with a smile.

“Hello, Grogu,” He leans down and picks up the child with both hands under the kids stubby arms. “Want to do a little combat exercise?” 

Threads of anxiety waft through the room toward Luke, and he realizes he has made the mandalorian nervous. The man was incredibly easy to read through the force, for someone so guarded. Luke couldn’t say he knew the man well yet, but he could  _ tell  _ a lot about him. He held so many thoughts and feelings behind that armor, oblivious that it seeps out into the energy field around them. 

“Nothing crazy, just something to get him used to it all again.” Luke reassures the child’s father. 

“Uh… yeah, okay.” Din mumbles, sliding the blaster into its holster with a click.

“Great,” Luke says with a smile, tucking the child under his arm and heading out of the room. “Follow me.” 

The mandalorian falls in stride with the jedi as they walk through the temple. His armor moves with a clunking sound each time his boots hit the ground. Luke pushes a large door open to reveal a paved outdoor square. The courtyard sits in between the repaired and desolate parts of the complex. It is open to the warm afternoon sun, and coated in layers of moss and foliage. Luke turns to Din and offers him the child, and he holds him gingerly. 

“What do you need me to do?” He questions, cradling Grogu with his right arm. Luke steps into the center of the patio, and into the sun. The light makes his black robes look gold, and hair white. He unceremoniously pulls the tie belt on his tunic, and the large shirt unfurls and falls off of his shoulders to the ground. Leaning down, he pulls the belt over his eyes, and ties it behind his head. The jedi straightens out, now wearing only a black tank top and pants, and produces the hilt of a silver lightsaber from his pocket. 

“I need you to shoot at me.” He says with a devilish smile. 

“ _ What _ ?” Din uttered in shock. “No.” 

Luke chuckles airily. “I want to show Grogu how you can tap into the force as an extension of your physical senses, as well as your mental ones. Don’t worry,” He stops, and unfurls his lightsaber in a loud flash of green. “I wouldn’t be a very good teacher if I let you hit me.” 

The confident tone he took made the mandalorian feel unbalanced, and actually consider his offer. 

“Are… you sure?” He says, setting a hand on his blaster. The jedi grins again and nods, shifting into a loose fighting stance. Din sets Grogu down on the ground, and points him toward Luke. The mandalorian pulls his blaster from its holster, and grips it with both hands.

“Here it comes…” He mutters awkwardly. The shots ring out like thunder in the quiet clearing. Lights strobe bright and green as projectiles wizz toward the jedi, and are deflected effortlessly into the stratosphere. With a simple flick of Luke’s wrist, the handful of shots were just a distant memory. Grogu sings with excitement on the floor below them. Luke stands up straighter, and laughs at the armored man.

“You’re aiming  _ around  _ me. Aim  _ at _ me.” He stresses. Din sighs a tinny, hollow sound. Reluctantly leveling the blaster to his eyes once more. He lets off another round, this time right at the jedi’s chest. Luke’s lightsaber connects with the first and second shots in swift upward slashes. He jerks and pivots precisely to hit each one. The jedi seems to see the onslaught clear as day. In a moment of curiosity, Din fires a flurry of blasts in quick succession. The jedi slashes sideways and deflects it upward, then moves to a downward stroke that swings like a pendulum behind him to launch the shot away. Luke spins on his heel to parry the next few blasts with rapid flicks of his wrist. He is looking right back at the mandalorian as the final shot speeds toward him. The sword comes down straight on the laser bullet, cutting it clean in half lengthwise, and repelling the two pieces off in opposite directions. They hit the grass with a hiss. Every single other shot was redirected into the sky with careful attention.  _ This one _ was to show off. Luke retracts his light blade and brings a hand to his temple, pulling the blindfold below his eyes with a hooked finger. He turns to Grogu with a toothy grin.

“See Grogu, connecting with the force around you can be utilized in many different ways.” Luke settles back into his professional persona. 

For just a moment, the mandalorian saw something else. He had seen Luke’s skills  _ before  _ on Moff Gideon’s ship, but certainly not this closely. And while it could be attributed to crazy jedi shit, the man’s instincts were impressively sharp. Watching him maneuver around the green with choreographic grace, made Din feel dizzy in a way he couldn’t quite place. The mandalorian was raised to value fighting prowess incredibly highly, and damn if the jedi wasn’t  _ powerful _ . Luke exudes knowledge, and the presence of something greater. Din had known this from the moment they met, and it is his disposition that makes him so trustworthy. He is absolutely a jedi master, but he seemed like less of an instructor in those moments and more… cocky. Maybe Din had imagined the wise jedi acting different, but he definitely was intrigued. 

“Thank you for the help.” Luke told the mandalorian. 

“Uh-- no problem.” He clears his throat, and looks down at the kid. Grogu looks incredibly pleased, and mildly impressed. After traveling with Din, he might be a little too comfortable around a battle. The mandalorian wonders how soon he will be able to do what the jedi does, and that snowballs into a thought that makes him feel sick.

“You aren’t going to shoot at  _ him _ , right?” Din wants to clarify, and Luke lets out a loud laugh. 

“No not yet. Certainly not.” 

Luke goes on to describe the rest of the lesson, because he is curious how developed Grogu’s abilities are. The child is already knowledgeable about the force, and seems to have a good relationship with it. He can utilize it to stretch his mental processes and communicate, but the jedi wants to test his other senses. Hehad collected a small basket of leaves from around the verdant grounds, and planned to drop the leaves over the child’s head. The idea being that Grogu can manipulate them through the force, and not allow any of the falling leaves to touch him. 

Luke’s blindfold looks massive on the child’s tiny frame, as he waits on the ground for the trial to commence. It covers his eyes, and folds over his large ears like a bundled scarf. He holds his tiny arms out in anticipation for the leafy onslaught, and the jedi releases a handful over his head. They float down slowly with aimless grace. A couple land on the ground around the child, but the rest graze the kid on their descent. The child lets out a quiet, frustrated noise as they brush against him. Din takes a step toward him.

“Hey, you got this kid.” He encourages. 

Behind the blindfold, Grogu furrows his brow, and focuses his mind. Slowly, the falling leaves begin to twist and change course in the air, going around the child. They continue to float to the ground until there are no more left falling. Din is grinning behind his helmet. 

“Very good.” Luke says to the child, and then turns to the mandalorian in curiosity. He decides then that inviting him to stay here was a very good idea.

That evening, Luke found the mandalorian and Grogu sitting at the island in his kitchen. The child was seated on the countertop. Blissfully munching away at a package of blue cookies, wrapped in thin metal foil. The mandalorian had his helmeted head resting in a hand propped on the island, facing the window listlessly. Through the window was the stone porch that framed the view. A dark blue and green landscape lit only by the night sky. The moon they find themselves on, has a very similar cycle to the standard day, but the sun sets early, and the nights are long. Luke found it relaxing. He wonders how the mandalorian feels about it. 

“Snacking before dinner?” Luke asks the child as he enters the room. Grogu turns to the jedi with a devious grin, and half of a cookie sticking out of his mouth. The mandalorian is startled out of his stupor and sits up straighter. 

“You’ll spoil your appetite.” Luke grins and steps behind the other side of the island. He sets a hand on the little kid’s head affectionately as he chomps down the rest of the treat. 

“He did well today.” Din says, with the ever so slight tone that he got caught red handed, spoiling the child.

“Ah, yes, I suppose it's deserved.” He jests. The jedi takes note to include cookies on his next supply order. 

Luke slowly learns things about the mandalorian over the next few days. He keens that the man likes to sleep in, if given the opportunity. He doesn’t like to sit still, when he’s awake. And it seemed to take him a little bit to figure out what to do with himself when his son was busy. Luke wagers he’s explored most of the surrounding forest on his lonesome. He’s more recently started to utilize the training grounds for his own practice. He has some spear he seems to be teaching himself to use. He is constantly fretting and fawning over the kid, but that isn’t really surprising. He likes to eat alone, and Luke has taken to leaving him out rations, or delivering them to his door. Lastly, he’s realized that the man has no intention of removing his armor. Luke isn’t sure if it is a matter of safety, comfort, or something else entirely, but it does not come off. The jedi worries slightly that he has missed a step somewhere, like they don’t know enough about each other. They aren’t avoiding each other, but seem to be kept at an arm's length. Just close enough for collaboration, but not honesty. 

He was surprised then, when the mandalorian marched up to him that afternoon. The armormored man caught him relaxing in the living room in between sessions with Grogu. The child was pestering his astromech droid again. 

“Are you busy?” Din asks. 

“Not particularly.” He responds, and the mandalorian shifts uncomfortably for a moment. This is the first time he has approached Luke for anything, so his curiosity is piqued. 

“Will you spar with me?” He requests gruffly.

“Oh… um. Yeah? Sure.” Luke says awkwardly. He didn’t know what the mandalorian had to say, but he certainly wasn’t expecting that. The more Luke thinks about it, it wasn’t completely out of the blue. After their training exercise the other day, and his practice with the spear. It was understandable that he would want a training partner. 

“R2, can you watch Grogu for a little bit?” He asks the droid, who beeps reassuringly in response. Luke gets up from the sofa, and heads outside with the mandalorian. 

“How do you want to do this?” The jedi ponders as they reach the yard. The mandalorian stands across from him and pulls his spear from behind his back. 

“Your laser sword.” He mutters, and Luke lets out a snort of a laugh. 

“My lightsaber? That’ll destroy your spear.” He says. His opponent cocks his head and retorts. 

“No it won’t.” 

Luke furrows his eyebrows and then shrugs. Detaching his lightsaber from his hip, and relaxing into a fighting stance. The light blade extends with an electric buzz, and he faces the mandalorian. He isn’t sure what he expects from the warrior, but he prepares himself for whatever skill level the man possesses. 

“Ready.” He states, and it begins with a swift motion. 

Din moves steadfast and with purpose when he fights. Luke is light on his feet, and defensive. The blows come slowly at first, the spear charging toward the jedi with hearty momentum. As Luke settles into the rhythm of dodging, Din pushes a little harder. The jedi is not refusing to fight, but is not initiating blows. Din wants practice, and if he isn’t being taken seriously he doesn’t want to bother. Luke side steps away from the spear, and Din pivots around the opposite direction to catch him off guard with the next swipe. The spear and the lightsaber connect with a bright green spark, and the two stand facing each other at odds. Luke’s eyes had a light in them they didn’t before, and his mouth is slightly agape. 

“It really didn’t cut through…” He says wistfully to himself, then takes his first step forward and swings at Din. Then Din is on the defensive, meeting and blocking the jedi’s swings. With each move, Luke looks more invested, curious how many hits the spear can take. The back and forth continues for a moment, before the mandalorian decides to take offensive action. As Luke brings his lightsaber down, Din releases his two handed grip on the spear. With his right hand freed, he brings it up like a shield. His beskar gauntlet deflecting the sword's blow with a forceful push. Luke looks surprised as he steps back, and Din uses this moment of shock to his advantage. He positions the tip of the silver spear behind the jedi, and pulls it forward at his ankles. Luke stumbles back with an awestruck expression, tripping and landing on the grassy ground with an unceremonious thump. 

The jedi sits sprawled on the ground for several moments, his black cloak spilling over the weeds. His mouth is ajar slightly, upturned at one corner. His blue eyes look up brightly at the warrior, and he is obviously working through a thought. Din feels vindicated. Not just from the fight, but also in Luke’s behavior. He feels like he is peering through the cracks of the man on the ground. Something bright and energetic stared back at him, completely unguarded. It is electrifying, and Din feels it’s jolt. He breathes heavily under his mask through an excited smile.

“That’s some armor.” Luke breathes. An armored hand is extended to him in the grass, he grasps it firmly and rises to his feet. 

“You know very little of mandalorians.” Din responds quizzically, and Luke lets out a laughing breath through lips that tugged upward. The man smiles so easily, but they are usually impersonal expressions. Right now, he is looking at the mandalorian as if they aren’t strangers. 

“No, I suppose not.” He says, but it sounds less and less true as it hangs in the air between them. The jedi dusts himself off and looks at the other with something devious in his eyes. His body language couldn’t be more clear, and his bright eyes ask:  _ again? _ Din steps back to make room, and lowers his armored body back into a sturdy stance. Luke twirls the green sword around with a flick of his wrist, and engages the match.

This fight lasted much longer, as the two got used to each other’s skills and style. Where the mandalorian lacked in class, he made up for in strength and perseverance. The jedi was agile and adept, but lacked stamina. It was a testament to his abilities, but it was very apparent his battles were usually  _ short. _ Yet he continued to push, as the two were no longer holding back. They weren’t trying to kill each other, but they certainly weren’t messing around either.

Eventually, Luke’s breath grew heavy from throwing himself around with acrobatic grace, and he moved to disarm his opponent. The mandalorian raised his spear over his head the next time their weapons collided. Luke stretched toward the other man, and ran his blade down to the hilt against the spear. In one strong swing, the jedi forced the spear out of the mandalorians grip, and sent it clattering to the ground. Din jumps backwards after he is disarmed, and after a quick beat, launches one final attack at the jedi.

Luke watches the armored man raise his gauntlet to his eyes, and propel a thin metal whip in his direction. The force bends around the projectile in slow motion, and he feels it’s path in front of him. The jedi raises a gloved palm in rapid reaction, and the mandalorian is pushed back. The armor greets the stone pillar behind it with a violent clang, and the cord that hangs from it’s gauntlet is pulled through the air like a ribbon. It falls to the ground limply between them. Luke’s face is flushed with sweat and patches of embarrassment, as he approaches Din with a nervous grin. He extends a hand to the man that is draped against the column.

“Apologies.” He lilted, pulling the mandalorian up. Din rolls his shoulders and his black visor faces the other.

“Don’t apologize,” He insists. “It appears  _ I _ know very little of  _ jedi _ .” 

The mandalorian got the wind knocked out of him when he hit the stone, but the feeling doesn’t dissipate once he is standing with the jedi. Luke seems blindingly bright in the aftermath of their sparring session. He beams with a confident presence that engulfs the space around them. It makes Din feel woozy, but at the same time like he could bask in that exhilarating bravado all day. He’d never been so pleased to have the shit kicked out of him. This jedi was… really something. 

“Grogu told me once that you can breathe fire. I thought it was just childish ramblings, but with everything else you have up your sleeve I'm inclined to believe him.” At that, Din lets out a proper bellowing laugh. The tone shift from the fight, and the kid's funny little mind absolutely tickles him. His deep voice was smothered under layers of electronic metal, but as soon as he collected himself, all Luke could think about was the sound. It was unexpectedly warm for the guarded individual, and reverberated through the jedi. 

“There’s a thermal canon built into my armor.” The mandalorian explains, exasperated. 

“That definitely makes more sense.” Luke runs a hand through his tousled hair and laughs. He stands with his weight on one leg, and a hand on his hip. This is the most informal Din has ever seen him.

“I watched the kid lift a great beast once, the way you just did.” He reminisces.

“Oh? With the force?” Luke is intrigued.

“I guess,” Din crosses his arms. “It would’ve killed me… the mudhorn.” 

The jedi looks at him with raised eyebrows. The small child was a constant surprise, but he was slowly picking apart his rationale. The child’s powers were very dependent on the presence of his father. 

“It is fortunate Grogu was there, then” He decides with a smile. 

The mandalorian’s silver pauldron glinted in the midday sun, and drew Luke’s eye. He nods to the symbol inlaid in the metal. 

“Is that it? A mudhorn?” Din follows his gaze with a tilted head, and hums in response. 

“My clan’s signet, yes.”

“Clan?” 

“Like… a family. Me and the kid.” He explains.  _ How very symbolic _ , Luke thinks. Those two have  _ some _ history together. As if one of the galaxy's greatest warriors, and a child of a forgotten species, didn’t raise  _ enough _ questions. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> between starting school and a new job this week, and copious amounts of block-induced rewrites, this chapter was a struggle lmao. i had literally so many ideas for this chapter, and the next. floating around my little skull. thanks for waiting though, i hope it delivers!
> 
> ps. thank you for all of the lovely comments! it seriously keeps me writing, you guys are so sweet. in addition, someone described grogu as being a little shit in a comment recently, and i literally could not stop thinking about it. he is. he absolutely is.


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